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Maginus-Clavius-Blancanus_220514_021517-UT

 

(Freely adapted from Wikipedia)

 

Maginus is an ancient lunar impact crater (dia. 194 Km, dep. 4.3 Km) located in the southern highlands to the southeast of the prominent crater Tycho. It is a large formation almost three quarters the diameter of Clavius, which lies to the southwest. The rim of Maginus is heavily eroded, with impact-formed incisions, and multiple overlapping craters across the eastern side. The wall is broken through in the southeast by Maginus C, a worn crater. Little remains of the original features that formed the rim of Maginus, and it no longer possesses an outer rampart. The floor is relatively flat, with a pair of low central peaks. 

 

Clavius is one of the largest crater formations on the Moon (diam. 225 Km, depth 3.5 Km), and it is the third largest crater on the visible near side. It is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon, to the south of the prominent ray crater Tycho. Due to the location of the crater toward the southern limb, the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening. Because of its great size, Clavius can be detected with the unaided eye. It appears as a prominent notch in the terminator about 1–2 days after the Moon reaches first quarter.

Despite its age, however, the crater is relatively well-preserved. It has a relatively low outer wall in comparison to its size, and it is heavily worn and pock-marked by craterlets. The rim does not significantly overlook the surrounding terrain, making this a "walled depression". The inner surface of the rim is hilly, notched, and varies in width, with the steepest portion in the south end. Overall the rim has been observed to have a somewhat polygonal outline. The floor of the crater forms a convex plain that is marked by some interesting crater impacts. The most notable of these is a curving chain of craters that begin with Rutherfurd in the south, then arc across the floor in a counterclockwise direction forming a sequence of ever diminishing diameters. From largest to smallest, these craters are designated Clavius D, C, N, J, and JA. This sequence of diminishing craters has proved a useful tool for amateur astronomers who want to test the resolution of their small telescopes.  The crater floor retains a diminished remnant of a central massif, which lies between Clavius C and N. The relative smoothness of the floor and the low size of the central peaks may indicate that the crater surface was formed some time after the original impact. 

 

 

Blancanus is a lunar impact crater (diam. 105 Km, depth 3.7 Km) located in the rugged southern region of the Moon, to the southwest of the walled plain Clavius. To south-southwest of Blancanus is the worn Klaproth. The outer rim of Blancanus is considerably less worn than that of Scheiner crater to the northwest, and the edge is still fairly well defined and it has a terraced structure on the interior. The floor is relatively flat with several low rises at the midpoint. There is a cluster of small craterlets in the southern part of the crater floor. 




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